Maple Ridge

Geography

Maple Ridge is located about 45 minutes east of Vancouver, and falls within the greater Metro Vancouver area.

It's directly east of Pitt Meadows, another rural community with which it's often associated. Both can be reached from Vancouver via the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) and the Lougheed Highway (Highway 7).

Location

Other neighbouring communities include Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam to the west, easily accessed by the Pitt River Bridge, and Langley and Surrey to the south, which can be reached via the Golden Ears Bridge. The southern border of Pitt Meadows is the mighty Fraser River, British Columbia's longest river, while Pitt River bounds the community to the west.

Landscape

Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows feature similar yet distinctive topography. Maple Ridge offers more of a rugged, hilly wilderness feel, with trails for hiking and horseback riding. Pitt Meadows is a bucolic farming community, with flat fields that abound with rich, fertile soil for berry crops.

Fishing & Bird Watching

From both communities, there are dynamic views of the twin Golden Ears mountain peaks and other coastal mountain ranges. Check out the fishing at Pitt Lake, North America's largest freshwater tidal lake, and go bird watching in the adjoining Grant Narrows Regional Park.

Parks & Hiking

Golden Ears Provincial Park is British Columbia's most heavily visited provincial park, and offers 62,540ha/154,540ac of outdoor recreation opportunities. Many other parks reflect the commitment of Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge to green space.

In total, more than 50 km/31mi of dykes are available for hiking in this area. The UBC Research Forest, with more than 5,000ha/12,355ac to explore, is another great hiking venue.

Climate & Weather

Maple Ridge has a mild temperate coastal rainforest climate, similar to other communities in Metro Vancouver. The average daily temperature in July is 17.5°C/63.5°F, and the average daily temperature is 1.8°C/35.2°C in January. The area gets between 1,400 and 1,800 hours of sunshine annually. The average annual amount of precipitation is 11cm/45in, and most of the rain is between October and March.